Standard Chartered Bank is considering buying Royal Bank of Scotland's 40 percent stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank in a bid to secure a presence in the world's largest oil exporter, a magazine reported. Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) said Standard Chartered wanted to buy into Hollandi because its application for a full banking licence in the kingdom was rejected.
The stake would be worth 5.72 billion riyals ($1.53 billion) at Saudi Hollandi's latest closing price of 54 riyals. "Standard Chartered wants its own brand in Saudi Arabia, but (the central bank) is reluctant to award any more commercial banking licences," the London-based weekly magazine quoted a source as saying. "So it is looking at Saudi Hollandi as an option," the source said.